New York's ambitious plan to rely on windmills, hydropower and other renewable energy sources for a quarter of its electricity by 2013 is a bit behind schedule and short on funds. The money consumers pay through their electric bills to help support projects like wind farms is simply not enough to meet the goals set out in 2004, according to Spitzer administration officials. They say they want to see the program fully funded -- a move that would likely cost consumers slightly more. ...Gavin Donohue, executive director of the Independent Power Producers of New York, said ...Eliot Spitzer is left trying to meet an aggressive target set by his predecessor that is both complicated and expensive. "I don't think we should give up striving for it," he said. "But I don't think we're as far along as some would paint the picture."

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on Iberdrola SA to create a trust fund to offset rate increases to consumers if it succeeds in acquiring Energy East Corp. Schumer's call to action comes as Iberdrola and state regulators are involved in talks to see if they can reach a settlement on the $4.5 billion merger. ...Schumer is also advocating that Iberdrola be allowed to retain its wind farm assets in the state. Iberdrola, the largest wind energy developer in the world, is a part owner of Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County, the largest wind farm in the state, and is developing more.

It's a race against the clock for leaders in Hamlin. Town supervisor Denny Roach hoped to have regulations for wind turbines in place earlier this month. On Tuesday morning, Roach says it could be another two months before the board sets standards. ...The Senate and Assembly are expected to take action on what is called Article X. The legislation would streamline the approval process for electric generating facilities, like wind farms, that exceed a power threshold of 30-thousand kilowatts. Article X could possibly affect all municipalities in the state. "It could allow for municipalities that have regulations in effect to grandfather those regulations, and allow us to keep them," Roach said, "or it could pre-empt us."

New York lawmakers want the Empire State to be a renewable energy role model for the rest of the nation. Members of the state's Renewable Energy Task Force insist that environmentally friendly initiatives need to be economically viable also. Carol Murphy, Executive Director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York explains, "Simply put: unless we make it easier to build clean-energy facilities, they will not get built in New York."

West has been trying for about three years to put her own personal wind turbine in her backyard, but she has run into some surprising obstacles and last month put up the only structure she has been able to erect so far -- a wind-monitoring tower. ...Park agency officials take the view that, regardless of purpose, a wind turbine is a structure taller than 40 feet. And the towers policy is meant to support the overall purpose of the APA, which, according to the Adirondack Park Agency Act, is to "insure optimum overall conservation, protection, preservation, development and use of the unique scenic, aesthetic, wildlife, recreational, open space, historic, ecological and nature resources of the Adirondack Park." Beautiful views have an economic effect, McKeever argues.

The last objection to a Spanish power company's proposed $4.6 billion acquisition of the regional utility Energy East Corp. is from New York regulators who question the deal's promise to stabilize rates, boost the upstate economy, and generate more wind power. Public hearings on the proposal end this week in upstate New York. In January, Maine's regulator signed off on the sale of Energy East to Iberdrola SA. The deal would affect 3 million customers from upstate New York to Maine and would put Rochester Electric and Gas Corp. and New York State Electric & Gas Corp. under foreign ownership.

Iberdrola SA, the Spanish utility seeking to acquire Energy East Corp. for $4.5 billion, is the largest wind power developer in the world. ...But research by the Times Union has found that even without the Iberdrola merger, nearly 7,000 megawatts of wind power could be in the pipeline through more than five dozen potential projects in the state. A 2005 study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority found that the state could handle 3,300 megawatts of wind power -- about 10 percent of the state's peak need -- without seriously upgrading its transmission or operational infrastructure.

Proposals to have Niagara County join a move toward "green" energy are making their way through the County Legislature. Measures recommended by the Working Families Party and introduced by six lawmakers call for pledging Niagara County to buying a fixed percentage of any wind-generated electricity produced in the county. Also proposed is a law that would require the county to buy federally certified energy saving products, such as appliances, when available. ..."There is definitely an up-front cost, but we see long-term benefits," Thampi said.

NY State Senator Alesi has introduced Bill # S46508 which calls for the establishment of a NY State task force on the siting and permitting of wind generating facilities. A provision of the bill includes an 18 month moratorium on wind energy development until policies are made.

In what appears to be a subtle shift in energy policy, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's top energy official said Wednesday that "all new clean power-generation sources" could be included in a new power-plant siting law. Paul DeCotis, deputy secretary for energy, made the comment during the annual legislative breakfast of the Energy Association of New York State, a trade group that represents utilities, including National Grid. A new siting law would help pave the way for electric power plants to be built in the state by streamlining the regulatory and permit-granting process. Although the state's electricity needs are currently being met, projections show more generation may be needed by 2012 to meet growing demand, especially in metropolitan New York City. A previous law, known as Article 10, expired in 2003. But the Legislature has not been able to agree on how to write the law.

The state Public Service Commission staff is advising against the proposed takeover of Energy East, the parent of Rochester Gas and Electric, by the Spanish utility Iberdrola SA. The recommendation doesn't mean the $4.5 billion deal won't go through, but it does put up a barrier that the companies will need to overcome.

You can almost hear the gnashing of teeth. A Spanish company, Iberdrola, is about to acquire Energy East, the parent of New York State Electric & Gas Corp. The company has received needed approvals from the federal agencies, and it is close to receiving the endorsement of four of the five state regulatory agencies. A decision from New York regulators is still some way off. Critics of the deal express anxiety that a foreign company may eventually control electric distribution to 3 million customers in the Northeast. They wonder if it's wise to have such critical infrastructure out of the hands of a domestic owner. But the reality is that the fragmented electric industry will undergo a vast restructuring over the next decade or two.

The Wind Advisory Committee submitted their official recommendation against wind turbine development to the Gaines Town Board Thursday along with a list of suggestions to include in a local law. The eight-member volunteer committee was charged by the Town Board to research the possible effects of the 400-foot towers and to report back with a recommendation. After months of deliberation, the committee decided commercial wind energy is not in the best interest of the town in a majority 6-2 vote at the end of November. Airtricity, an international wind development company based out of Dublin, Ireland, has proposed constructing 55 to 80 wind turbines on land in the Towns of Gaines and Albion. Its North American operations were purchased for $1.4 billion Oct. 4 by E.O.N., a power and gas company based out of Dusseldorf. Town Supervisor Richard DeCarlo said the ultimate decision about the wind towers will be up to the board.

Several county officials met Thursday with Empire State Wind Energy President Keith Pitman to gain information about how much revenue can be made from wind projects, Brezinski said. Pitman told county officials he would be able to give the county 75 percent of the revenue if he did a large project for the county, said Herkimer County Administrator James Wallace. That's 10 to 20 times as much money as other developers are offering, Wallace said. ...Friends of Renewable Energy member Carole Kowall of Jordanville said it would be a huge risk for county taxpayers if the county decides to try to develop a project on its own. Wind turbines can cost $2 million to $4 million each, and a project would be a significant capital investment for the county, she said. There are many costs involved with building, operating and maintaining the turbines, Kowall said. Wind projects don't start making revenue above the investment until after a double-digit number of years, she said. How long it takes to gain revenue depends on the size of the project, she said.

A controversial amendment that critics say would open up Buzzards Bay to unlimited wind turbine development was quietly slipped into a House energy bill last week, with some legislators unaware they had voted in favor of it. Many saw the fingerprints of Boston developer Jay Cashman on the amendment, which the House speaker's office denied. Mr. Cashman and Speaker Salvatore DiMasi are close personal friends, which Rep. DiMasi publicly disclosed in a letter to the House clerk last March.

The Long Island Power Authority has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from firms interested in providing electricity from renewable facilities and associated renewable energy certificates. In a release Monday, LIPA said the renewable energy could come from new or existing projects in New York, New England or the PJM electricity markets. LIPA has voluntarily agreed to follow the state Public Service Commission's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires suppliers to acquire 25 percent of the power they sell from renewable sources by 2013.

It was the threat of Article X legislation that prompted Town of Hamlin Supervisor Dennis Roach to speed up the timeline for the town's Wind Tower Committee's work. The ...The committee was originally given a timeline that extended to December but was summarily moved up by Roach when talk of Article X began surfacing among state representatives. Roach has consistently said he wants to have the town's regulations in place before the state made its own determination on sitings for turbines. ..."We agree that we have to do something to generate more electric power so we can reduce utility costs for businesses and consumers, but we have to go about it in the right way. As we look at legislation to reauthorize Article X, we need to make sure that local governments have a sufficient amount of input into the siting process if a generating facility is proposed in their community," said Maziarz in a press release.

With a wave of wind energy seemingly about to hit Western New York, many of the area's towns have a message for Albany: They think they're handling it pretty well on their own. That's in the wake of legislation passed at the end of the State Senate's and Assembly's spring sessions that drafted new rules for siting power plants - including large wind power projects. ...Merle Draper, the supervisor of the Orleans County Town of Shelby, said: "If the ability to control the siting is taken from the local municipality . . . we're again a big backyard for New York City."

Cattaraugus County residents who fear their communities will be subjected to wind-energy facility laws and contracts, wind tower views and wind turbine noise learned Monday night that wind energy has already become a public policy in New York State. About 60 residents attending Monday night's wind energy forum in Olean Public Library were advised to lobby the governor and state elected officials concerning a proposed power plant siting bill now making its way through the State Legislature. The bill - known as Article X - and other legislation being considered in Albany would revive the Public Service Commission's expired provisions for power plant siting.